California Utility Signs New Wind and Solar Power Deal

Southern California Edison (SCE), a division of Edison International, disclosed it had signed agreements, subject to state regulatory approval, with wind and solar suppliers for close to 960-megawatts of power, including two contracts with Solar Millenniu

Part California's aggressive push, the contracts require utilities to add more renewable energy sources, thereby reducing the state's fossil fuels dependence, often blamed for contributing to climate change.

The projects expected to come online in 2013 and 2014, include two contracts with Germany's Solar Millennium AG 726 MW of electricity from solar thermal plants. Solar Millennium's solar thermal plants will be located in Blythe, Southern California and in Ridgecrest. One of these projects could be expanded by an additional 242 MW, the utility said.

The other recent renewable power contracts include a 40-megawatts wind power deal in Central Oregon with Columbia Energy Partners, expandable to 104-megawatts, and a 90-megawatts wind power expandable to 130-megawatts in Southeast Idaho, with BP Wind Energy & Ridgeline Energy LLC.

Without releasing financial details of the contracts, Southern California Edison says both these projects are scheduled to come on line in late 2010.

SCE announced in February that it had signed contracts with Brightsource Energy for buying 1,300-megawatts of electricity from new solar thermal plants.

Solar thermal power plants use the sun's heat to create steam for powering an electricity-producing turbine. Typically, thermal plants are much larger than photovoltaic solar paneled plants that turn sunlight into electricity.